This is a tour diary of sorts. It is a story of a struggling band, a tour manager with several outside projects and responsibilities, and their constant battle across the US and Canada during a two month tour from October 28th to December 19th, 1998. Surviving on their own, our heros rely on their insights, experience, wisdom and courage. However, when that does not work, outside experts are involved in the belief that they can be of some assistance in resolving the problem. Unfortunately, this relies on the presumption any quality company would stand behind its product or service. This would get repeatedly challenged. The findings prove conclusively that either Compaq does not seriously consider customer service an important aspect of business, or their products are unreliable, or from my conclusion, both the company and the product lack any merit. Please review the evidence before you pass your judgement. This story is completely true. It has been reported accurately to the best of my knowledge by reviewing my many extensive notes, logs, and of course, my memory. Of course there are several witness, or rather survivors of this crusade. Feel free to email me with any questions.
First the band: The Bomboras,
five mid-twenties guys from Los Angeles who have given up their jobs to
pursue the dream of being a full time band and playing their unique style
of surf and garage music across North America. The band has been around
from 5 years, and had just come out with its newest
(and fifth) album, "Head
Shrinkin' Fun" on Zombie
A-Go-Go, a new label started by Rob
Zombie. The band is energetic, enthusiastic, ambitious and excited
about undertaking this 2 month tour through
Canada and the United States. The Bomboras are know for their fantastic
stage show which regularly includes lighting the organ, drums, bass on
fire during one song. The band has basically been on the road touring for
about 5 months already and are now ready to cement their place in lots
of cities around the nation with their second (or third) gig in that market.
Now there is me. My name is Grant
Thayer (email: grant@bostonska.com). I have been involved in the music
industry for over 10 years. This tour will be my second extended time with
The Bomboras. When I first encountered The Bomboras, I was tour managing
The Amazing Royal Crowns (from
Providence, RI) and both the Bomboras and the Crowns were supporting a
month long tour with the legendary seminal 70's band The
Cramps. In addition to tour managing for the last year or so, I also
manage the Boston based 10 piece ska/punk band Big
D & The Kids Table. I book and promote ska shows in the Boston/New
England area and I have a compact disc distribution company which provides
a reliable outlet for all the latest ska releases. I currently carry about
200 titles from over 15 record labels and 50 bands and service about 20
stores from Boston to Key West. One of my earliest efforts was the creation
of a weekly Boston Ska Email Update
to spread news, information and show details to fans of the music. That
list has grown to over 3,500 subscribers nation wide with a good portion
of those national subscribers resulting from a national tour with the Mighty
Mighty Bosstones in the fall of 1997. In addition, I am also the director
of advertising for a new magazine call RUDE
INTERNATIONAL. RUDE is a music magazine that covers the ska/reggae/roots
and punk music scenes. Issue #3 of the magazine had an original ad deadline
of Nov 6th, some 5 weeks after my initial start tour managing
The Bomboras. Although it is a challenge doing so many things on the road,
email is essential, or rather a working computer to access email is essential!
As you can guess, I live on email and receive about 30 to 50 emails a day
from fans, bands, record labels, clubs, news media, advertisers and other
music industry sources. I live, work and survive on email.
Compaq Computer Corporation is one of the largest computer company in the nation. Based in Houston, Texas, Compaq has been a leader in providing many portable laptop models with various features to satisfy a diversely customer demand. With Compaq comes the feeling of trust, the wisdom of experience, and the belief in quality. When I purchased my first laptop at the beginning of one tour last fall, I took into account, features, size, versatility, reliability, tech support and customer service. Up to this time, I have heard only good things about Compaq so I confidently purchased a new laptop: The Presario 1610 from Circuit City. I also bought an extended warranty (from the retailer) to insure that I encounter no problems through the year 2001. The unit seemed to work fine at first. I had problems with the modem and main board in November of 97, and again in February of 98, both repairs took place at University Computers, in Boston, and within 6 months, 2 new main boards were in.
This is a story of the day to day struggle of being on the road, trying to do your job, and attempting to resuscitate your number one tool of the trade while continually facing set back after set back with minimal customer service. The laptop sat in the repair shop for 62 days, curiously enough, I dropped it off a week before the tour started and picked it up on the second to last day of the tour. At that point, the laptop did work for 2 hours. It still does not work the way it should: By no means is it portable. I dream of one day having a laptop that will actually work like it should.
From September 30th, through October 19, The Bomboras and
I were embarked on a short three week tour
of the US, including 10 supporting dates with the Man
Or Astroman? Clone Project Gamma, which was a female version of the
band Sci-Fi/surf band Man
Or Astroman?. During that time, the laptop computer worked well, until
the end of the tour when it would not operate unless you manually held
the plug into the back of the computer, which pretty much leaves you with
one hand to take care of business. Now, on to the story....
Day 1 -- Wed, Oct 21, 1998 (Boston)-- The
Bomboras are just finishing up 20 day tour
of the East Coast and I leave the last show in Denver to return unexpectedly
home for my Grandmothers funeral. While back in Boston, where I live, I
drop the computer off at University Computers (phone 617-353-5556) in Kenmore
Square, Boston. I became familiar with the shop as the unit had already
been repaired there about 3 times in the year I had owned it. The problem
was, at the end of this tour, the unit wasn't getting power properly. The
unit would shut off even though it indicated 90% or 100% power. Even when
it was plugged in, it would still shut down and go into hibernation mode.
I was unsure if it was the connection in back or some other problem. As
I wasn't flying back to join the Bomboras to start the next leg of the
tour until Monday, I felt confident that the great techs there (Justin
& Simon, among others) could diagnosis the problem and order the part(s)
needed in one day, have the parts arrive the next day, and allow another
day or two to put it back togetherer. Perhaps this is the only good thing
I still have to say about Compaq, they do ship parts overnight. That, along
with past experiences at University Computers, kept me optimistic about
picking the unit up before flying out next Monday. They have always helped
me as best they could within the parameters that Compaq allows.
Day 2 - Thur Oct 22 (Boston)-- University
Computers diagnoises that it is a problem with the main board and orders
a replacement. Everything on track.
Day 3 - Fri Oct 23 (Boston)-- They receive
the part in the late afternoon and will put the unit back together on Saturday
morning, hopefully ready to pick it up Saturday afternoon. This is the
first of the main boards they install for this problem. However, I believe
this is the third main board the unit has hosted in it's 12 short months
since I purchased it.
Day 4 -- Sat Oct 24 (Boston)-- I get a call
saying that the unit is ready, however, when the technicians put it back
together, something happens with the video monitor resulting in a series
of vertical lines running down the bottom half of the screen about 1/8
inch apart. The unit is still usable, but it is very distracting and nearly
impossible to read.
Day 6 -- Mon Oct 26 (Boston to Los Angeles)--
I pick up the laptop with the defective monitor in the morning just before
leaving for the airport. They gave me the option of leaving it there to
get fixed and they would send it to me, at my expense. However, as the
band has several shows around the Los Angeles area, we would around there
until Saturday Morning, hopefully allowing another service center to fix
it. Thinking ahead, I would bring the unit in tomorrow (Tuesday), and as
the University techs have given me part numbers, it should be easy for
the new place to order the part, have it in on Wednesday, and giving them
pretty much all of Thursday and Friday to repair the unit. Still optimistic
about leaving on tour with a working unit. After arriving in Los Angeles
at night, I call the Compaq tech support number (1-800-OK COMPAQ) to document
my situation, hoping to expedite my repair when I bring the unit in to
an authorized service center tomorrow morning .
Day 7 -- Tuesday Oct 27 (Los Angeles) --
I get up at 8am and call the Compaq service facility toll free referal
number. I am staying with Dave Klein, the drummer of the band in South
Pasadena, California, and give them his address to find the closest authorized
service center. Both the automated, and later a human referral, can only
give me the address of 7 'nearby' Radio Shacks which, as you can guess,
would have to send all the units out to be serviced. Clearly this is not
a good option and I start looking on my own and find (through the yellow
pages) that there is an authorized service center in Pasadena, less than
3 miles away. I find it ironic that Compaq does not even have them listed
through their referral system, but yet they would direct me to a Radio
Shack over 20 miles away. I wait until 9am when the service center is open
and call. I get directions and I go drop the laptop off for service. When
I arrive at Net Solutions
in Pasadena (626-796-4845), I am greeted by a very friendly woman named
Shawn Housley, who is the Compaq technician. I explain my situation to
her, that I am leaving for two months on Saturday morning and that the
unit is working but just needs a new monitor replace to solve the vertical
line problems. No problem she says, they are not that busy this week and
I leave with full confidnece that a working computer is only a couple of
days away. I give her the case number #388436 and the recommended part
number of #293807/201 which was suggest by the tech previously. She assures
me she will double check it and I leave smiling to continue advancing the
shows.
Day 8 -- Wed Oct 28 (Los Angeles) -- Having
been out the night before, I get a message from Shawn about my computer
and call her. She had called Compaq to order the monitor parts using the
existing case number (#388436) and the part number. She was told that the
unit is out of warranty and they could not send the part. She says she
tried calling Compaq twice and got diffenent dates as to the end of the
warranty period for that unit, one being Oct 26th, two days
ago. I call Compaq to investigate, and explain that since it was still
under warranty when I brought it in (to Boston) and I never recieved it
in working order, it should still be covered. This is my 5th
call to Compaq, each time taking about 30 minutes to go over the current
problem and previous case numbers, etc. I also have to explain the two
different service centers, the two different problems, etc,. I finally
get to a supervisor (Alan Goldberg) who says that the unit is STILL UNDER
WARRANTY and he doesn't understand why Net Solutions was given wrong information
from Compaq...TWICE. He documented this on my case that the laptop would
have its warrenty extended until January 6, 1999, just as a precaution,
so if something goes wrong on the rest of the tour, I can still get the
unit serviced when I get back to Boston after the tour, which ends right
before Christmas. . Alan then asks me to call Shawn back and tell her it
is okay for her to call and order the part, but I am skeptical of it being
that easy (as she has already tried twice). As time is of the essence,
I request that he calls Shawn from Net Solutions, and then conference it
together with myself and Al, which I feel would be the quickest and most
effective way to ensure that all three of us are on the same page, working
together to remedy the situation. Alan agrees, and it is done. A mere 100
seconds later, Shawn has the okay to order the part under warranty and
things are still looking good, as the part should get in on Thurs, leaving
the rest of Thursday and Friday for putting that puppy back together. Tonight
is the first show of the tour, a show down
in Santa Ana (about 40 miles south of Los Angeles) with The
Cramps, a great show with about 600 people there. It's good to see
the Cramps again. We are doing 5 shows with The Cramps as part of their
annual Halloween mini-tour up the west coast.
Day 9 - Thur Oct 29 (Los Angeles) -- Shawn
gets the video part, and repairs the unit, however, she explains that there
is a very fragile part inside the computer which was damaged in the repairing
of the video problem, and they now need to order that additional part to
make the unit work. She orders the part, but it won't arrive until Monday.
I start to panic. I offer to take the unit back the way it was when I brought
it in, with the vertical lines and all, but that is not an option, as it
in an inoperable condition now. I realize that I have to get a lot of necessary
information out the computer (tour dates, guest lists, media contacts,
Canadian Immigration information, contracts, etc, etc) if I am starting
this tour without the computer. Shawn, however, is going to be out of the
office tomorrow, but the other great folks at Net Solutions will see what
they can do. The band's second show is tonight at the House
of Blues in Hollywood. A sold out show, a great crowd, but a very strict
place. They banned us from using fire in our set. We reluctantly agree.
(Apparently Ted Nuggent ruined it for everyone who wants to burn stuff
on stage here!) A band member comments on stage that "You need a pass
to take a dump at this place". The highlight of my night was while
I was talking to the security guard at the top of the stairs near the dressing
rooms and the VIP entrance. Right there, a door opens out to the porch
and various celbrities or VIPs knock on the door and get access with out
dealing with the main entrance or the general public. While I am talking
to this security guard (or rather a future producer who would like to put
one of The Bomboras songs on his soundtrack) there is a knock at the door.
He opens it and I recognize the gentleman accompanying two artificially
beautiful ladies (you know what I mean) and he says "They said we
could come in to see the show", and with out missing a beat, the guard
goes "Sure you can, you just have to go buy tickets" and shuts
the door in Pauly Shore's face. I laugh.
Day 10 - Fri Oct 30 (Los Angeles) -- Altrhough
Shawn is not in the office, her co workers, Richard and Alex hook the hard
drive of my laptop to an external monitor, external keyboard, a mouse and
a printer. They really went above and beyond the call of duty and I really
appreciated their efforts in helping me out. I work in the back lab about
3 hours printing out the information I need. I also try to quickly scan
some of the 350+ emails that have accumulated since Monday. I leave at
6pm, after their office is closed. Alex allowed me to extra time to get
all my necessary material. Now THAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE! I return home
and call Compaq and ask for a supervisor. I know the techs are just doing
their job and they really want to help, but I really don't like taking
an hour to explain the situation. ("First it was this which was in
Boston, then this in LA, then this....") I finally get to talk to
(I believe this time it is) Ryan Brown. At this point, I have been going
on about 4 hours of sleep for the past 4 nights because I have to wake
up early every day trying to solve my computer problem. I express my anger
and frustration to Ryan, and perhaps a swear or two slips out. He warns
me that he will discontinue this call if that happens again. Ok, fair enough.
I explain that this is causing me great problems, and I am facing a dire
situation without the computer. The international tour starts tomorrow,
the ad deadline for the magazine (which I am ad director for) is next Friday,
and I have no way of communicating with a majority of the advertisers.
I inquire about the possibility to use a replacement computer, or ask about
getting a refund to put the money towards a computer that would actually
work, and he says "That is not covered under the terms of your warranty."
This phrase would become a phrase that I would despise, and one which I
would hear all too often. I suggest that since this computer has been in
two authorized service centers, each time getting worse, and that since
it is creating a tremendous hardship on me, my business, and the band's
successful tour, I should be referred to his superior, or someone in customer
service who may be able to resolve this problem, be it a refund or a new
unit. Clearly, if he can't make it happen, which he can't, then let me
talk to someone who can. I want to get this thing over with and concentrate
on my duties and extensive responsibilities facing now me. I don't want
to continue this situation. He tells me the next step is for me to take
it to a customer relations rep. Great, let's do it. Transfer me to them,
give me the phone number and a name, let's do it. Oh NO, No. It's not like
that. He then informs me that I would have to fax a letter into the customer
service department with all the details of the computer, repair problems,
what has been done to it, and all the information which I spend 40 minutes
telling the Compaq's technical support center every time I call. He then
says, once I do that, a rep would get back to me in 48 to 72 hours. Well,
I explain to him that in 48 hours I will be in Oregon, some 1000 miles
away, and again ask him for a telephone number, as my situation is pressing,
and I won't be at a set number for anther 2 months (sorry, I don't have
a cell phone). He assures me that they CAN NOT be reached by phone. I find
that very interesting, as I am sure these people actually DO use phones
in their jobs, but it becomes apparent that this is the only options made
available to me. Despite my persistence that due to the scope of this matter,
and recommending that he step outside of his textbook options and go an
extra step for me. NO CHANCE IN HELL! I remember Dave & Monique (the
drummer and his girlfriend where I am staying) starting to move away from
me in their appartment as my conversation with Ryan gets more heated when
he gives me no chance of resolving this issue. How the hell can I fax someone
with a contact number where they can't reach me??? I imagine that surely
HE would be able to call them, and leave a message on my behalf, as he
has a phone, and I am still betting that the Customer Service Rep have
more than just an incoming fax machine. NOT AN OPTION! No, as a supervisor
who has more leeway than an ordinary tech, he won't take that extra step
in this extraordinary situation to try to help me. Of course I rest a lot
of the blame on myself, because when I researched the laptop options before
my purchase, I stupidly based my decision on the false premise that their
24 hour, 7 days a week customer support center would be useful in solving
any problems with the computer.
Day 11 - Sat Oct 31, Halloween (San Francisco)
-- The Cramps' shows always bring out a 'strange' array of people dressed
in various styles of provicative 'clothing'. Leather, latex, and cleavage
seems to be the most prominant on display. We are playing at the famous
Warfield Theater, a place that Bill Graham regularly featured so many of
the great 60's Bay Area rock bands (Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane,
Santana, Janis Joplin, etc) back in the day. Unfortunately, with the Warfield's
prestige and fame comes a price. The price is that management takes a whopping
30% off all the bands merchandise sales. It forces every band to raise
the price of shirts and cds just so they can break even on the cost. Merchandise
sales is what keeps the smaller bands on the road. It is the only way they
can survive on tour. (Granted this percentage is down from 43% since the
last time I was there, so I guess that is better.) After the their set,
I get reamed by the production manager for not telling him that there were
going to be open flames on stage. That's a big No-No in a union hall. As
tour manager I am responsible for that, I didn't tell him, he says I may
have jeopardized getting paid. Things calm down, we get paid, I promise
that it won't happen again
Day 13 - Mon Nov 2 (Portland, OR) -- Shawn recieves the fragile part but won't be able to put it together until later today. She also says it now needs another new main board. Now I am getting worried. After tomorrow's Seattle show, we are in Western Canada for a week. Trying to get them to ship my computer there could be a big problem. Customs, weather, small towns, long drives, icy conditions, etc. Tonight's show at La Luna in Portland is the hometown of surf band Satan's Pilgrims, who are doing all the rest of our US dates for the next 2 months. The Pilgrims have just released their fourth album, "Creature Feature" on Estrus Records.
Day 14 - Tue Nov 3 (Seattle) -- Shawn is
still struggling to get the laptop up and running. Main board #2 (#4 since
buying it) is installed. The plan is to stay overnight in Seattle and have
the compurter Fed Ex'd to my friends studio tomorrow morning and we get
it before crossing the boarder into Canada. Tonight was another great show,
at The Showbox, and
it hasn't rained either day, debunking that Pacific Northwest image. We
say good bye to Sherry & Kina, our two Go-Go dancers, who won't be
able to travel the rest of the tour.
Day 15 -- Wed Nov 4 (Seattle to Vancouver)
-- The box arrives, YES! I have the computer. Shawn had worked on the unit
all day yesterday, stayed late, and then had to rush to the Fed Ex office
to get the package out that evening. Unfortunately, in her efforts to make
sure I would have my computer, she returned from the Fed Ex office to discover
that the power adaptor was still sitting on the desk, and not in the package
on its way to Seattle. Oops! No worries, I call the venue where we will
be playing tomorrow, so it can be Fed Ex'd internationally to them. I talk
to Tracy at the Savoy Inn in Nelson, British Columbia. We will be staying
there tomorrow night and she says its fine, she will be on the look out
for the package. Cool. One step closer to a working laptop. So we set off
on our drive to Vancouver, getting a late start since we had to stay over
and wait for the package. We cross the Canadian boarder without incident,
which is a good thing. Sometimes the boarder crossing can take a few hours
but we get through in about an hour. So, as we drive on towards Vancouver,
I pull my knife out and cut open the shipping box and low and behold: IT
IS MY COMPUTER, I may have shed a tear, but I don't know. Quickly this
happiness would pass as I go to power up the computer. I try to power it
up again. The battery shows 100% charged, that's good. But nothing happens.
I try it again and again, but still nothing. The on indicator symbol on
the LCD display at the notebook hinge signified it was "on".
THE LIGHTS WERE ON BUT NOBODY'S HOME!. Still nothing. The idea of trying
to power it up using one of the van tires rolling over it quickly flashes
through my mind. The rest of the band sit quitely, nervously wondering
how I was going to react to yet another defeat at the hands of Compaq.
Another pressing situation needed to be immediately addressed. We make
it to Vancouver and find a Medical Center, as one of the members need attention.
While in Portland, Jake (singer/Farfisa organ) had used a cotton swab,
just like every other day, but this day, this (non Q-Tip brand) swab became
dislodged in his ear canal. Originally, he thought it would work its way
out, but now, 2 days later, he was having more problems with it, and was
becoming a little dizzy. Let me say that we enjoy the medical system of
Canada! What would have taken several hours, piles of paper work, and cost
hundreds of dollars in the US, was taken care of within an hour and a half
and for only $40 (Canadian). The entire time that Jake is in the clinic,
I am on the phone with, you guessed it, COMPAQ. I once again get a eager
tech who wants to solve the problem and again I don't feel like taking
an hour to tell the story (It's longer than "Alice's
Restaurant") about the computer. Finally I get a supervisor, (Ron)
whose only words are "Your warranty does not cover Canada!" Gee,
thanks a lot. We finally get to the Starfish Room, and the Club manager,
Keith, lets me use his office to dial that old 800 Compaq number once again.
For the hour+ time I am on the phone, Keith sits behind his desk in disbelief
as he overhears the entire story. He is amazed at the absurdity of this.
The Compaq supervisor (Richard, I believe) also now can not find in the
case where Alan had extended the warranty through Jan 6. Call me paranoid,
but other techs have read that to me while going through the notes, then
I yelled at Ryan and I think he did some editing, as now it is now where
to be found.
Day 16 - Thur Nov 5 (Nelson, BC) -- We arrive
at this small town that no bands every go to. I think we are the guinea
pigs for this 'new & improved club'. I find Tracy at the Savoy Inn
and ask her if Fed Ex delivered anything. She informs me that a Fed Ex
person called earlier that day and they would deliver it later that day.
Wow, could it be that something actually worked the way it is supposed
to???? Tune in tomorrow. Anyway, the show is weird, to say the least. The
only comments from the fans are "Why did you come here?" and
"Thanks for coming, no one every does." Well, we broke in a new
place and had fun, maybe a little too much, especially if you ask our guitar
player. Thank God he wasn't sleeping in one of the top bunks in the band
room.
Day 17 -- Fri Nov 5 (Nelson to Calgary)
-- I again get up early with only a few hours of sleep to try to find out
what is going on with the computer, this time its the power adaptor, and
it actually has nothing to do with Compaq. I call Fed Ex. The package is
still in Vancouver with a duty of $10 and change due on it for customs.
So it's 8 hours away, that means it won't be here today. Today is Friday,
that means the first place it could get delievered is on Monday . Fed Ex
could not even guarentee that it would get there on the Monday, nor could
they guarantee to get it to a specific place on a specific day (which is
crucial when you are on tour). So, since I will be returning the computer
back to Net Solutions in Pasadena, I ask them to return the package to
the sender. They say it will be there either Monday or Tuesday. The drive
today is very scary: across the mountains, through snow and ice, with a
tempature of -9 (about 24 farenheit). Lots of windy mountain roads, lots
of snow and ice on the road. We press on. If anything, I have focused my
growing fustration into determination. As for the magazine I work for,
the ad deadline get's pushed back a week. I have been scrambling all week
trying get in touch with advertisers and make sure they get their copy
in on time. Very expensive phone call. I need a new $20 phone card just
about every other day. For previous issues, I have done about 75% of the
ad sales via email. Calgary is a nice city and the people are really cool.
We have a really cool show there, a lot of people turn out and its an early
hi-light for the tour.
Day 22 -- Wed Nov 11 (Saskatoon) -- The
band had a great show here last night in a bar called Amigo's. It was about
10 degress out (-20 C) last night and we decided to load out the next morning,
as we are staying in a (scary) band room just upstairs from the club. The
next morning, as the band loads out, I again call Compaq. Another tech,
Sharon Scarlett, has me go through the story of the "twenty seven
8 X 10 color glossy photos with the circles and arrows and a paragraph
on the back of each one explaining what it is" (sorry for the Alice's
Restaurant quote, but it is gettting near Thanksgiving). Anyway, my
goal was one thing on this specific phone call. Compaq had always offered
to send a box to me and so that I can send the unit to their headquarters
where they can perform an exorcism. Either that, or they send it to some
base where little elves would sprinkle magic dust and make everything work.
I decided that since the warranty doesn't cover Canada, and Compaq would
not send a box to Canada, that I would have them send a box to me at the
club in Minneapolis, where we would be playing Friday (our first show back
in the States.) Sounds easy enough. However, the powerful computer company
can not fathom that I will need the repaired unit sent to a DIFFERENT address,
rather than returning it to Minneapolis. Clearly this baffles the entire
staff and computer system of Compaq. YOU CAN'T DO THAT!. "We have
to send it back to the same address." Graham, the promoter for last
night's show, has been doing some paperwork on the bar the entire time
I am on the phone and he often stops his work to look up to me in disbelief,
shaking his head. The band finishes loading out, and goes to eat. I am
still on hold. After being on hold for another 20 minutes, she comes back
and says they will be able to send a box to the club in Minneapolis, and
IT WILL BE THERE Friday. Thank God. Sharon gives me this number to reassure
me (#58388436, which is just the extended case number) and then gives me
the toll free number for the repair center so once I ship it I can find
out the status of it.
Day 24 -- Friday Nov 13 (Minneapolis) --
Of course I couldn't expect any good luck on Friday the 13th.
We get to the club, 7th Street, where Prince filmed "Purple
Rain", and immediately get a parking ticket while loading into the
club. Next up, find out there in no box from Compaq. WOW! WHAT A SURPRISE!
I, however, am forced to send the laptop back to Net Solutions in Pasadena
to once again, try to fix the problem. I call Shawn to let her know to
expect the computer. I find out she still has not recieved the power adaptor
which she was suppose to receive Monday or Tuesday of this week. I call
Fed Ex and give them the tracking number. They are "Unable to locate
that package." GREAT! They assure me they will try very hard to find
it. Pretty cool show tonight. We rejoin the Satan's
Pilgrims for an onslaught of instrumental surf rock. The local opening
band tries (and is somewhat successful) in stealing a lot of our beer.
Now, you don't want to come between a band and their beer.
Day 26 -- Sunday, Nov 15 (Green Bay) --
No computer news as it is Sunday. We go to check out of the hotel and discover
the trailor axel is broken. We can't drive it anywhere. We are supposed
to play Milwaukee tonight (2 hours away). We locate a U-Haul trailor and
rent it, move the equipment into the U-Haul and leave the disable trailor
in the parking lot of a convience store/gas station. Tomorrow is our first
day off in about two weeks, and instead of resting, we get to deal with
fixing the trailer axle. YIPPY!
Day 27 -- Monday Nov 16 (Green Bay, WI)
-- Net Solutions receives the computer, however, the power adaptor has
not made it yet and Shawn can not start fixing the laptop until she has
the power adaptor. I call Fed Ex and they find that the box is still in
Vancouver but guarantee they will have it delivered in Pasadena tomorrow.
As for the trailer axle, Craig, the customer service rep for Pace Trailers
(who manufactured our 4 month old trailer) said he would do everything
he could to make sure we don't miss any shows. Craig really made a lot
of effort in seeing that it got handled to our satisfaction. He knows that
bands are always be buying trailers, as they get larger, or as time goes
on. He knows customer service is very important to ensure repeat business.
He had called several places, found an axle in Indiana, found a repair
shop near us, and said Pace would pay for fixing and towing. As this is
my first non-Compaq Customer service rep I have dealt with, I find his
efforts very supportive. It was like they actually cared about their customers
and would want them to continue using/buying their products. If only that
sentiment were shared by others... So Pace trailer is having an axle freighted
overnighted (by noon) so we can hopefully still make our show tomorrow
night in Normal, IL, a 6 hour drive. I've been assured by Quality Welding
Service that it will only take an hour to put the axle on. So things are
looking good on the trailer front.
Day 28 -- Tuesday, Nov 17 (Green Bay, WI to Normal,
IL) -- Fed Ex fails with the computer power adaptor, but they
will have the power adaptor there tomorrow. I let the confidence of the
Fed Ex agent pass through me, as I won't believe it until it is there.
Meanwhile, back with the trailer, we come to find out that the delivery
of the axle will be before 7pm, which Craig misunderstood when talking
with the trucking company. As we are planning to abandon our trailer for
the rented U-Haul, the axle shows up and there is much rejoicing. We make
it to the club late (missed the load in), but had warned the promoter about
our problem and we arrived in plenty of time to do our set.
Day 29 -- Wed, Nov 18 (Normal, IL) -- Fed
Ex 'attempted delivery" at 9:05AM was what the agent claims, however,
the people at Net Solutions were there since before 9am and there was no
attempted delivery notice left at their business. They 'will attemp a redeliver
later in the day" to no avail.
Day 30 -- Thur Nov 19 (Chicago) -- YEAH,
Net Solutions got the power adaptor. Shawn then spends the next 3 hours
on the phone with Compaq. Shawn also recieved the latest "Quick Restore"
cd that she will need, since she doesn't have mine. That cd has lots of
programs needed to get the system running.
Day 31 -- Friday Nov 20 (Cleveland) -- Shawn
informs me that the laptop, when booted, repeatedly has an error message,
"Can't Find file HIMEM.SYS" despite the fact that she has reloaded
those files. A later consultation with her offers this lovely advice: COMPAQ
now recomends running a quick restore. A Quick restore is a way of reformatting
the hard drive and re-installing all the software to make the computer
work. The one BIG downside is, it will erase everything on the hard drive.
She said she would try a couple more things and we'll talk on Monday.
Day 34 -- Monday, Nov 23 (London, Onterio)
-- Back in Canada, after a great show at the Magic Stick in Detroit Saturday
night. Shawn tells me that saving any info from my hard drive would require
specialist and cost upwards of $1,000. HELL, IF I HAD THAT TYPE OF MONEY,
I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT A NEW LAPTOP BY NOW. After careful consideration, I
tell her to go ahead and run the quick restore, condeming all my data to
be lost forever.
Day 35 -- Tuesday, Nov 24 (Windsor, Onterio)
-- The Quick Restore failed. The computer still can't find that HIMEM file,
concluding that it appears to be a hard drive error. She tells me she will
order the hard drive today. Later that day, while checking my messages,
I find out Shawn was told by Compaq that the computer is out of warranty
and she can not order the part. I'VE HEARD THAT BEFORE!. I should point
out that Shawn has been for the past 4 weeks been spending several hours
trying to get this paper weight up and running, not to mention all the
hours on the phone to Compaq. However, Compaq pays the service center per
incident, not per actual time spent, and they consider this entire drama
the same incident. So, off to call Compaq, and thanks go out to Chantelle
Japp, the radio station manager for giving up her office for a couple hours.
Chantelle has always been a good friend and fan of the band. Adam Silverman,
another service tech at Compaq, tries to be helpful, but I am really not
in the mood to take another hour or more to go over the story, which seems
to get exponentially longer every time I contact Compaq. After all, it
takes each tech about 10 minutes to read through the notes while I sit
there on hold. Adam finally gets me to a supervisor, Robert Saum. I tell
the story in three part harmony and he says that on his computer, there
should be no problem for anyone to order any parts. Well, just to be sure,
I request him to conference call with Shawn, just so we can all get what
we need. At first he says Compaq does not have the capibilities to do that.
I respectfully suggest that since they have done it before, they could
find a way to do it again. So, soon enough, there we were on a conference
call, Shawn, me and Robert, the supervisor who assures us everything will
work out fine. In addition to giving Shawn the verbal green light, Robert
also gives her the case # 388436 (which I am sure we both have memorized
by now) and the activity ID # 178170 so that anyone can go immediately
to the section and see that Robert typed in something like "Unit is
still under warrarnty, all parts ordered for repair are allowed."
The activity ID allows the people to quickly access the exact area of the
case, instead of having to reading through the 10 pages of notes, which
I am sure that case has by now. So once again, I have a slight twinge of
confidience that things are looking betterr... YOU FOOL! HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED
ANYTHING! By the way, we play at Windsor University tonight for their radio
station, CJAM and the entire show in broadcast over the net. OH, THE IRONY!
Day 36 -- Wed Nov 25 (Hamilton, Ontario)
-- Another message from Shawn, despite all the assurances from Robert,
and the Activity ID #, The parts department still insist it is out of warranty.
Net Solutions had been on the phone with Compaq all morning trying to get
this resolved. It is now involving a couple people at Net Solutions trying
to talk some sense into Compaq, but it is not possible that they can be
incorrect. It wasn't until I called Shawn and gave her Robert's last name
(Saum), that Shawn was able to finally get past that hurdle and order the
hard drive. By the way, tonights show sucked. There is a bus strike in
the city and it is raining, and cold. No one dares to venture out. The
local openning band was told by the promoter that they could use our drum
kit, unfortunately, the promoter never check with us first, and since we
have had problems with past bands, we have a rule not to let people we
don't know us it. We are on tour, if anything should happen to our equipment,
we risk losing shows, fans, and perhaps most important when on the road,
money to survive on.
Day 37 -- Thur Nov 26, Thanksgiving (St Catherine,
Ontario) -- Thanksgiving! Unfortunately, not for Canadians,
as they celebrate their Thanksgiving Feast back in October, I believe.
We all call our family and loved ones. The best we do is some pita wraps
at a local counter store. We take them back to the club and enjoy our Thanksgiving
celebration with a bag of Doritos. We are thankful.
Day 38 -- Friday Nov 27 (Toronto) -- Just
when you thought it was safe. So, we cleared the hard drive hurdle and
got the order through the parts department.... BUT WAIT... The "Logistics
Department" at Compaq says that there has been too many parts ordered
for this unit and won't allow any more parts to be sent out. Net Solutions
spends several hours on the phone with Compaq, both Shawn and her regional
supervisor waste their day talking to the reps at the big C. When I discovered
that the shipping box did not arrive in Minneapolis, I decided to send
the unit back to Shawn (much to her disappointment) because I can always
call her, and she knows me and my computer, probably too well now. If I
had sent it in to Compaq, like Compaq had suggested, I did not feel comfortable
that I would be able to coordinate my specific situation with the person
who actually has the unit. I would have never been able to find out what
is going on with it. After all the dealings on the phone with Compaq, I
really liked the idea of one to one interaction. I'm sorry Shawn was "the
chosen one". (Not as sorry as she is!) It becomes pretty humorous
when I would call and Shawn would ask, "So where are you today?"
and we would chit-chat for a quick second about the weather there and then
came the question from me: "What's the update for today", which
I would then deliver to band, who would start to laugh. We play the famous
Horseshoe Tavern
tonight, a great place run by great people who are really in it for the
music. A refreshing change from the money sucking music weasels we all
to often experience. The show is awesome, we have a great time, and as
usual, Jeff & Craig, the promoters at the Horseshoe, take care of us.
Day 40 -- Sunday Nov 29 (Chicoutimi, Quebec)
-- No computer news but this mining town has a reputation of being really
weird. We were warned that the kids enjoy PCP and they try to steal your
stuff. Although I can't confirm that a lot of these walking Zombies were
in fact ON PCP, I can confirm that they did steal stuff, every chance they
had. A wild show, the whole crowd was between 15 and 18 and apparently
there is no drinking age there as serveral 16 year old pass out or fall
over. The band blows the stage power four times before we were finally
able to play more than two verses of the first song. The crowd got on stage
and just went wild....to the tune of smashing 3 of our black light fixtures
and causing about $200 in damage to our equipment. We are still waiting
to get the rest of our pay from the 17 year old promoter who started crying
when he didn't have enough to pay us what he had contracted. While some
bands would beat up a promoter that doesn't pay, and others would secure
equipment as collateral, we decide to leave it in the hands of Neville,
our booking agent to get it out of him. It doesn't happen. The two hour
drive back to Quebec City takes about 4 hours as it is snowing heavily
and the roads were very icy. We could not go over 30 mph the whole way
back. We see a tractor trailor truck take out a huge moose which just spins
across the icy pavement like a spinning bottle. It was very unsettling.
While the rest of the band sleeps, Shane keeps me company while we listen
to Pink Floyd's "Dark
Side Of The Moon," an eerily appropriate soundtrack for the slow
motion driving in this storm.
Day 41 -- Monday Nov 30 (Portland, ME) --
After a long drive last night and a smooth boarder crossing today, we get
back to the US of A. I check in with my daily phone call to Shawn to discover
the old good news and bads senario. The good news is that "Logistics
has okayed the part" (The hard drive). The bad news is that the hard
drive is back ordered and she won't get it until Dec 10th. We
have a great show at the Asylum in Portland. Johnny, the promoter is alway
really cool with us and they always have great food. Last time we played
the Asylum (back on October 8th) there was kind of a weird incident. A
local there, stole an incoming fax from the office of the club. It just
so happened, that the fax he stole, was a contract for our show tonight,
although HE thought it was for that October show. At the end of the night,
he came up to Jake and was like "I know how much money you're making"
and was kind of flaunting the contract offer, waving it in the air like
a little kid. When I found out, I confronted him and he claimed he found
the contract fax in the trash. The thing was, I had seen it earlier while
I was faxing out paperwork, and I recognized it, and told the club about
him. If we didn't discover that stolen contract, THIS show might never
have happened, as the paperwork was removed. Later that evening, while
loading out, the band intervenes while a club security guard is roughing
up the offender outside, slamming him against a brick wall. "Teaches
him right" the security guy declared.
Day 42 -- Tueday Dec 1 (Boston and Portsmouth, NH)
-- Portland is only about 2 hours to Boston (where I live) so I take this
opportunity to check to make sure my appartment is still standing. I have
about 3 hours at my home with my desktop computer, and I download about
1500 emails that have been gathering since the laptop went into the shop
42 days ago. A lot of emails are from Bomboras fans who just recently saw
us and went to look at the Bomboras webpage
(www.bomboras.com) which features a link to send email to (Guess where?)
my laptop account. Other emails include various bands who were looking
for shows, or media people who were trying to set up interviews with the
Bomboras, and also requests for ticket and show information for people
wanting to come out to our shows. Also, as I haven't had the ability to
send out one of my Boston Ska weekly email updates since October 22nd,
there are lots of people emailing me asking if I was still doing the weekly
update I send a quick email to the 3,500 subscribers letting them know
I am alive, that COMPAQ has made our lives on the road a living hell, and
that I will return with the updates as soon as I can.
Day 51 - Thur Dec 10 (Atlanta) -- Shawn
gets the Hard drive, installs it, runs quick restore and gets the message....
"Can't Find HIMEM file". She spends several more hours on the
phone trying to figure this out.
Day 53 -- Sat Dec 12 (Houston) -- The band
tries to keep from laughing as we drive by a large building on Interstate
10. The large sign reads COMPAQ CUSTOMER SERVICE. I was really hoping we
would be playing Houston on a week day, so that was I can go investigate
and see how all those Customer Service Reps work with out using telephones.
Day 55 -- Mon Dec 14 (Austin, TX) -- Through
Shawn's extensive efforts on the phone with Compaq while performing diagnostics
on the unit, Compaq concludes that the prior defective hard drive had affected
the main board, and now it needs another main board. (This will be it's
third main board since I have dropped it off to get fixed on October 21st
) It is at least the 5th, but possibly the 6th main
board that laptop has had in its 16 month existence.
Day 57 -- Wed Dec 16 (Tempe, AZ) -- Only
four more days of the tour. I tell Shawn I will be back in LA on Friday
and she says with the upmost confience that it will be ready Friday. The
band laughs at the entire ordeal. We tell stories about the tour, about
the "Daily Compaq updates" and oh yeah, about some of the shows.
What isn't funny is that the sound man from the Club tonight (Boston's)
punches the drummer from the openning band in the eye for knocking over
his new microphones when the drummer knocked over his drums during the
set.
Day 58 - Thur Dec 17 (San Diego) -- We are
back in Southern California which means we are close to home. All the girlfriends
come down to the show at the Casbah,
as does Kina & Sherry, our go-go dancers. A great set, but I think
everyone really wanted to go home quickly. I don't know why, just because
they haven't seen their loved ones in almost 8 weeks, they really want
to go their home. No one wanted to stay at the bar and drink with me.
Day 59 -- Friday Dec 18 (Los Angeles) --
Back home for the band. Everyone gets to see their loved ones. I go to
pick up my laptop and unfortunately Shawn isn't there, but Richard is and
gives me the computer. I think they are very happy to finally have it leaving
their shop. It has been nothing but a pain in the ass for them fighting
with COMPAQ trying to get it fixed. I feel bad that it was them, but from
the beginning, I was glad to be able to call one person who was familiar
with the situation and not take an hour just explaining what the story
is. I turn the computer on, the battery level is at 90%, and then it shuts
down due to insuffienct battery power. I am hoping it is just a strange
occurance, since sometimes the batterys levels aren't always acurate on
the laptop. I get it back to Dave (the drummers) house and plug it in.
The battery level now reads 0%, so I let it charge, but it doesn't charge
that long. Just like the reason I brought it in the first place, the battery
and unit is not getting proper power. AT LEAST THE POWER ADAPTOR IS WORKING.
I successfully download about 500 emails that have been piling up since
the Dec 1st download on my desktop in Boston. I scan through
a couple of items but don't have enough time to respond to any of them.
We play at a home town bar tonight (Bar Deluxe in Hollywood) and see a
lot of friend we haven't see in a while. A great show. The girlfriends
are all happy to have their guys back safe and sound. Only two more shows
tomorrow and that's it for the tour.
Day 60 -- Sat Dec 19 (Los Angeles) -- I wake up and decide to try to reload some software into the laptop that had been erased by reformatting the hard drive. I had grabbed several cd roms when I breezed through my place in Boston a while ago. I was having trouble loading one, as whenever the sound card tried to play, the computer would freeze up and reboot. I am successful in loading an anti-virus program but am still having problems with another's sound effects. Next thing I know, The entire until freezes, I try to restart and nothing. Just the little on indicator light on the LCD display goes on. Nothing else, no whuring, no clicking, no nothing. The computer worked (partially) for about 2 hours and then regenerated back into it's effective paperweight form. It seemed to have the exact same symptoms as when I got it Fed Ex'd to me in Seattle. I calmly call COMPAQ to give them the latest update. I get Brian McManus, who eventually gets me to supervisor Mike Fridland. After explaning my frustrations with the computer, Mike leads me to believe I was at fault for not initially sending it in to Compaq. After (not so calmly) telling him how much this sucked. He wanted to know what I wanted. I asked for a new computer "That is not covered under the terms of your warranty." So, I left it, that since I was going back to Boston tomorrow and would be bringing it in there, that I'm sure that there will be some probablems and I wanted him to be familiar with my case so when I call, I can talk directly to him. WOW, WHAT A REASSURANCE THAT IS. Our last night and we have two shows, the first is a corporate Christmas Party where we were the entertainment and it was at a posh country club, the gig was pretty weird with all suits and stuff, with no one knowing who the hell we are. After that, we book over to the Club Mesa in Costa Mesa, where we play our final show of the tour. A somewhat bitter sweet farewell with an extended encore with all the members of the Bomboras, Satan's Pilgrims and your truely ending up on stage long after the club owner told us to end the set.
Day 62 - Monday Dec 21 (Boston) -- After
flying on the busiest day of the year, with the flight being cancelled
due to a water leak, I arrived last night about 2am. I bring my laptop
back to where it all started, University Computers in Kenmore Sq. I tell
them the tales and the stories, at least I can only tell them some, as
the entire story now takes way to long.
Day 63 - Wed Dec 23 (Boston) -- Justin at
University Computers informs me that they will shipping the computer out
to COMPAQ, that is if Compaq actually sends them a box. He also informs
me that there is no way to currently access the "IN" box of my
Eudora email program, so that those 500 emails I down loaded during the
laptop's brief consciouness can not be retrieved.
Day 68 - Sunday Dec 27 (Cape Cod) -- Our
family celebrates Christmas today, as we have done for the past several
years, allowing some my brothers to attend their in-laws for on the 25th.
I actually like doing it this way, less stress, more shopping time, and
generally better sales. Unfortunately, while walking our 11 year old golden
retriever, my mother slips on a patch of ice and breaks her ankle and leg.
Surgery is set for Wednesday.
Day 70 - Tuesday Dec 29 (Cape Cod) -- I
call Compaq to inquire about my computer and talk Ziad Shatila, after being
on hold for about 10 minutes, I get disconnected and call back and talk
to Lee Welch, who gives me a toll free number to call the repair center.
I call 888-886-3292 and talk to Daniel House who can't find the computer.
Day 72 - Thursday Dec 31 (Cape Cod) -- New
Year's Eve. I talk to Kathy Capps who says they received the computer yesterday
and will sent out today. With Friday being a holiday, I should receive
it on the Cape Monday morning.
Day 76 - Monday Jan 4 (Cape Cod) -- The
Airborn Express delviery agent brings a box to the door. It does in fact
contain my laptop, which does in fact work, to some extent. As I have change
my plans to help my mother's recover from surgery, I have no necessaty
for using the evil computer. I try reconditioning the battery as suggested
by charging it as much as it will go, then draining the entire battery
repeatedly. I do this over the course of the next week.
Day 77 - Tuesday Jan 5 (Boston) -- I receive a bill in the mail from Net Solutions for $345 for 3 hours of billable time. I know that is only a fraction of the time they spent on the unit, but still, I don't feel right paying it, as it is Compaq's responsibility.
Day 84 - Wednesday Jan 13 (Boston to Florida)
-- My first attempt at using the repaired "as good as new" Compaq
Presario 1610. My mother lives in Florida and can now return to the warmth
after getting clearance from her surgeon. Now utilizing my late grandmother's
wheelchair, my mother is able to maneuver better than using crutches. We
pre-board American Airlines flight 449 to Miami and are thankfully bumped
up to first class, thanks to the broken bones. Once the aircraft reaches
a certain height, the stewardess announces that "Use of approved electronic
equipment is now permitted." This is what I've been waiting for. Let's
see what happens. I pull out the computer, put it on the tray table, open
it up and hit the power button. The lcd displays show 100% power, which
is a result of all week's charging and draining. Unfortunately, that is
as far as it has gotten. While the computer is still booting up, the power
% display starts flashing and immediately after is that hellish beeping
that indicates it is going in to hibernation until some later time when
you can provided it with power. My mother sighs. I close my eyes and pinch
my self to see if this is a nightmare, when I open them, I realize that
it's not a nightmare ... it's a Compaq!
It is now March 23th. I was in Florida with my mother until
January 22nd. I refused to call Compaq while in Florida, as
I think of that as vacation, unexpected and not the normal vacation, but
somewhere sunny and warm. Since I have returned home. I have been using
my desktop computer extensively to catch up on year end sales for all stores,
labels and cds that I service. The laptop works only when plugged in to
an outlet, even if the battery shows 100%, which it rarely does. While
on tour, I started to document the entire episode as it took place after
the first week or so. Being very detailed oriented is a necessity for a
successful tour manager. Some of these events may be one day off from when
they actually occurred, however, this does represent the most complete
inspection and detailed review of how Compaq has caused me such distress
and frustration. I would be very interested in seeing my entire case printout
that Compaq uses to log the calls, not to mention being able to hear those
calls that are "Monitored to ensure quality control." (Who am
I kidding, I don't want to hear those.)
So, as it stands now, my portable laptop Compaq Presario computer, IS
NOT portable. This was the problem which initially forced me to bring the
computer into University Computers on October 21st. It does
not work adequately on battery power. It shut down when it still indicates
between 10 and 100% power, and it will only run for maybe 5 minutes (on
a good day) when it is not directly plugged in to the outlet. So, now,
on March 23rd, after spending weeks writing and recounting this true story,
I find that I am still trying to resolve this issue.
All I can ask is that you please take this into account when you make
your computer buying decisions. Tell your friends who are thinking about
buying a computer. Customer service is what is important to some people,
including myself, and the lack of it can be very frustrating. I was the
David and Compaq was the Goliath, however, I could never find a proper
stone to take the giant down. There is nothing worse that having a false
sense of security that is built up by corporations and sales associates,
only to find that it isn't worth the paper its printed on, or rather "That
is not covered by the terms of the warranty".
I would ask that you forward this to anyone who may learn from it, appreciate
it, or be sympathetic to it, or even to make them feel better about their
computer problems. Spread the word. Tell me what you think.